They may be good calls, questionable calls, or controversial calls. There are unusual rules interpretations or circumstances. There are moments where officials were tested, where judgements had to be made, where the fortune of an entire season hangs in the balance. We’re counting them down, until we reach Number 1. Now … on with the countdown.

Dean Blandino, the NFL’s vice president of officiating, began the season today by explaining calls in Week 1 of the 2015 NFL season in the weekly video for the media (download). Some highlights included: In overtime in St. Louis, the officials, according to Blandino, correctly ruled that there was a valid fair catch signal by…

#457506908 / gettyimages.com Week 7: Seahawks at Rams (video at 4:02) A fumble by Rams running back Tre Mason was ruled to be recovered by the Rams as a swarm of players descended upon the ball downfield. Since the fumble occurred after the two-minute warning, the fumble recovery by the offense goes back to the…

Dean Blandino, the NFL vice president of officiating, released his weekly media tape discussing the calls of the previous week (video download). First, Blandino addressed the preventative officiating mechanics of umpire Carl Paganelli signaling to Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower that he was in an illegal formation over center on the Jets last-second field goal attempt.…

7 known suspensions of officials for on-field incidents The NFL rarely has suspended officials for their conduct on the field, although it is possible that some may have occurred without public knowledge. Also, there are two known cases of officials (not included here) who were originally assigned to the Super Bowl and had that assignment…

The latest media tape by Dean Blandino has been posted by the NFL, which we will use as the weekly training tape on unusual calls. The vice president of officiating discussed these calls: The clock remains stopped on penalties inside 2:00 of the first half and 5:00 of the second half. This was key in…

The big call of the week was Tony Michalek’s flag on a Patriots defensive tackle Chris Jones. Jones shoved his teammate into the Jets offensive line on an overtime field goal attempt [Ben Austro, Football Zebras]. “I’m sure the league would rather the first call in history of this rule would not have been at…

Click the image to enlarge. It is time to kick off the new football season! Here are some numbers for all of the zebra watchers out there. Enjoy! Designed and researched by Ben Austro. Sources: NFL Record and Fact Book (2013, 2008, 2000); Pro-Football-Reference.com (Coleman, Freeman, McKinnely); Football Zebras, “Officiating crews for the 2013 season“;…